Within the crumbling walls of their modest home, moonlight filtered through jagged holes, casting eerie shapes on the floor. The air hung heavy with exhaustion, but Bai Feiyin's screams shattered the silence, echoing through the night like a banshee's wail.
"Aish!" Bai Yifan grumbled, rubbing his bleary eyes in frustration.
"That little brat is at it again! Why must she unleash her unholy words during such an ungodly hour? It's maddening!"
Bai Fengyu, the eldest, echoed his groans from his own straw pallet.
"It's always our precious sleep time that's wasted!" he uttered tiredly.
"Did she encounter an owl spirit when she sneaked out and in turn got possessed by it? That girl, it's as if she's so bored hooting that she's also keeping us awake to make a point! I don't even know what the time is. I still have to wake up before the sun rises to plow the fields," the eldest groaned in obvious complaints.
"Then, as the eldest, shouldn't you make an example and talk to her? She's too old to be sulking still. Mother and Father can't do anything either, they are too soft on that girl. It's been three days, causing me a headache. I couldn't even focus on reading," Bai Yifan rasped, not even masking his contempt and sheer annoyance.
Bai Fengyu rolled his eyes at his second brother's scrape and snorted.
"My body still aches from the day's construction work, and you want me to go to her? You're here just dilly-dallying with your books all day at home. Why don't you go yourself to see her instead of pushing it on me?"
Hearing his particular tone, the second brother gnashed his teeth, jolting upwards like a spring was attached to his back, and pointed at his older brother accusingly.
"What did you say? Older Brother! I know you're still being sour, but how can you call burning midnight oil studying all day long, dilly-dallying? Have you had no conscience at all?"
Bai Yifan huffed aggrievedly, pointing out and correcting Bai Fengyu's claim.
"Even if you're the eldest, how can you say that to me when I'm practically wasting my youth with books and cooped up in our house? Do you think it's that easy to study, reading only those fading bamboo scrolls with the creaking noise of the leaking roof as background?" his youthful, handsome face contorted as he roared.
"If you want to be in my place so bad, why don't we swap? I'll go help father in the field and you bury yourself in those damn boring chores!"
While everyone in their family knew how to read and write, all thanks to their father who was a scholar, as far as skills went, among the brothers Bai Yifan had been deemed most suitable to be nurtured in an academic path.
Thus, for a poor family who could hardly afford to support their children's learning, everyone decided to put all their eggs in the second son's basket in hopes that he would attain success.
Alas, only Bai Feiyin, who had gone through this lifetime's ordeal, knew how it was turning to a bleak end.
Triggered by the second's taunting words, a taut nerve bulged hatefully in Bai Fengyu's forehead, grabbing the former by the collar.
"You darn ingate, say that again you cocky bastard!" he snapped.
The young man's eyes burned red as he glowered at his younger brother, "Do you think I don't dare get that seat if not for Mother and Father's worries? You think you're special? You're just lucky because you're not the eldest, and I had to yield the opportunity to you!"
His eyes flashed with pain and anger.
He and Bai Yifan had the most knowledge, being able to attend the academy before getting kicked out of the Bai Main Branch, as compared to their younger siblings, with the oldest of the few having over a four-year gap with the second child.
Fuelled with rage, his face horribly twisted as he carried on his revilement. "It's only because you were the only suitable spare part that you were able to snag that chance. Don't be cocky you little shit!"
The chilly breeze sliced through the narrow gap, cutting the tension like a blade. Bai Fengyu and Bai Yifan stood face-to-face, their icy, taunting glares locked in a silent standoff, each daring the other to blink and yield.
Sneering, "What, did I hit a nerve and press on your sore spot?" Bai Fengyu's voice was sharp, dripping with disdain. His words hung in the cold air as though a challenge wrapped in contempt.
Bai Yifan's fists trembled at his sides, but Bai Fengyu's eyebrow barely twitched.
Fengyu, too, had dreamed of becoming a premier scholar and landing a post like the one his father once had, and second, would be to restore their family's lost glory.
'I'm the eldest. I should be the one becoming the family's pillar of support,' the boy earnestly thought with hidden bitterness in his heart all these years.
It felt unfair. But the harsh reality left no room for extra burdens on their struggling parents.
Back then, before they were ousted from their ancestral home, the world seemed full of promise, and he and his siblings had equal chances. Now, the path to knowledge felt like a distant horizon, taunting him with unreachable dreams.
Hearing Bai Yifan's scornful taunt, dismissing his sacrifices, felt like a slap in the face. The older brother's anger flared, fueled by the sheer injustice of it all.
"Bastard!" Bai Fengyu's voice cracked, raw with fury. "Don't you see how Mother and Father are suffering? And you whine about petty details? You should be grateful for what you have!"
His rage surged, and he couldn't hold back.
'At least you have them. At least you find some comfort in having them within reach! I can only dream of a chance, and yet you mock and take it for granted!' His teeth ground together, his fists clenched with all his unspoken feelings.
If it were him, he'd cherish the opportunity to his grave!
But it can never be him…